PIPER

~•♡•~

piper didn't know much about the mediterranean, but she was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to freeze in july.

two days out to sea from split, gray clouds swallowed the sky. the waves turned choppy, changing from cerulean to ash grey. a cold drizzle sprayed across the deck, forming ice on the rails and the ropes.

"it's the scepter." nico murmured, hefting the ancient staff. next to him, aruna had an angry face, holding a plate of spaghetti in her hand. she'd tried to feed it to nico because he hadn't been eating very well. her reasoning?

"he's italian. he got a-love-a da spaghet."

nico did not a-love-a da spaghet.

"it has to be." he went on.

pier wondered, ever since jason and nico had come back from croatia, they'd been acting nervous and cagey. something major had happened there- something jason wouldn't share with her. aruna knew it, too. she and piper had talked about it, both worried about the two boys.

it made sense that the scepter might have caused this weather change. the black orb on top seemed to leech the color right out of the air. the golden eagles at its base glinted coldly. the scepter could supposedly control the dead, and it definitely gave off bad vibes. coach hedge had taken one look at the thing, turned pale, and announced that he was going to his room to console himself with chuck norris videos. (although piper suspected that he was actually making calls to his cloud-nymph girlfriend, mellie. the coach had been acting very agitated about her lately, but he wouldn't tell piper what was going on.)

so, yes... maybe the scepter could cause a freak icea storm. but piper didn't think that was it. she feared something else was happening- something even worse.

"well, i ain't gonna talk about here." aruna grumbled as she pulled her fluffy silver coat over her. "it fuckin' windy."

they had all gathered on the quarterdeck to discuss strategy as they got closer to epirus, but now it was clearly not a good place to hang out. wind swept frost across the deck. the sea churned beneath them.

and aruna's complaining managed to make a bad situation about a million times worse.

piper didn't mind the waves so much. the rocking and pitching reminded her of surfing with her dad off the california coast. but she could tell hazel wasn't doing so well. the poor girl got seasick even in calm waters. she looked like she was trying to swallow a billard ball.

"need to-" she gagged and pointed below.

"yeah, go." nico kissed her cheek, which piper found surprising. she watched every muscle in aruna's face contort in shock. nico hardly ever made gestures of affection, even to his sister. he seemed to hate physical contact. kissing hazel... it was almost like he was saying goodbye.

"i'll walk you down." frank put his arm around hazel's waist and helped her to the stairs.

piper hoped hazel would be okay. the last few nights, since that fight with sciron, all three girls had shared some good talks together. being the only girls on board was kind of rough. they'd shared stories, gossiped about the boys (good things, but also about their gross habits [apparently leo sneezes in his sleep a lot?]), and shed some tears about annabeth.

hazel had described what it was like to control the mist, and piper had been surprised by how much it sounded like using charmspeak, and aruna mentioned it sounded similar to her ability to control emotions. piper had offered to help if she could, and aruna offered moral support (like she was going to be able to help or offer any sort of material item), and in return, hazel had promised to teach piper sword fighting- a skill at which piper epically sucked. again, aruna said she was going to offer moral support on that.

even though she was acting aloof, piper could tell that aruna really liked hazel. she felt like it was good for aruna to have another female friend, someone to talk to a share secrets. and hazel was a little on the younger side, so piper felt like she and aruna were sort of mentors to her; piper in the way of kindness, and aruna in the way of being a bitch. you must have balance.

aruna shook her head like a dog, brushing all of the ice off it. sadly, she was standing dangerously close to leo, and it ended up whipping him and spraying ice all over his face.

"OW! MY EYE!"

"shut the fuck up."

piper thought they were probably the most terrifying couple on board.

nico calmly brushed some ice from his hair and stared at the scepter. "i should put this thing away. if it's really causing this weather, maybe taking it below deck will help..."

"sure." jason said.

nico glanced at piper, leo, and aruna like he was worried what they might say when he was gone. piper felt his defenses going up, like he was curling into a psychological ball, the way he'd gone into a death trance in that bronze jar.

but, she saw his defenses going down at the sight of leo and aruna having another argument.

"you are not the boss of me!"

"everything i say goes, you stupid slut! this is my boat!"

"NO IT IS NOT!"

"hey." piper said firmly, but she still smiled. "cut it out."

aruna and leo rolled their eyes. nico finally headed below, and piper studied jason's face. his eyes were full of concern. what had happened in croatia?

leo pulled a screwdriver from his belt. "so much for the big team meeting. looks like it's just us again."

just us again.

piper remembered a wintry day in chicago last december, when the four of them had landed in millenial park on their first quest.

leo hadn't changed much since then, except he seemed more comfortable in his role as a child of hephaestus, and he seemed to have a little more self esteem. he'd always had too much nervous energy, but now he knew how to use it. his hands were constantly in motion, pulling tools from his belt, working controls, tinkering with his beloved archimedes sphere. today he'd removed it from the control panel and shut down festus the figurehead for maintenance- something about rewiring his processor for a motor-control upgrade with the sphere, whatever the fuck that meant.

arguably, she felt like aruna had probably changed the most. aruna used to be uncomfortable with everything, everyone. she seemed like she was constantly caught between what she needed to do and what she wanted to do. now, she seemed to be able to follow her heart more. she'd stopped looking so skinny and starved, and embraced herself more, accepted her true nature. she seemed more comfortable with talking to new people, embracing those that were different- like hazel. piper had watched as aruna started to care more for hazel, treat her almost like a sister. she watched as aruna started to be kinder to frank. she watched as aruna realized that she wasn't alone.

as for jason, he look thinner, taller, and more careworn. his hair had gone from close-cropped roman style to longer and shaggier. the groove sciron had shot across the left side of his scalp was interesting too- almost like a rebellious streak. his icy blue eyes looked older, somehow- full of worry and responsibility.

piper knew what he friends whispered about jason- he was too perfect, too straitlaced. in aruna's case, she'd screamed it in front of an entire camp of demigods. if that had ever been true, it wasn't anymore. he'd been battered on this journey, and not just physically. his hardships hadn't weakened him, but he'd been weathered and softened like leather- as if he were becoming a more comfortable version of himself.

and piper? she could only imagine what leo, jason, and aruna thought when they looked at her. she definitely didn't feel like the same person she'd been last winter.

the first quest to save hera seemed like centuries ago. so much had changed in seven months... she wondered how the gods could stand being alive for thousands of years. how much change had they seen? maybe it wasn't surprising that the olympians seemed a little crazy. if piper had lived through three millenia, she would have gone completely loopy.

she gazed into the cold rain. she would have given anything to be at camp half-blood, where the weather was controlled even in the winter. the images she'd seen in her knife recently... well, they didn't give her much to look forward to.

jason squeezed her shoulder. "hey, it'll be fine. we're close to epirus now. another day or so, if nico's directions are right."

"yep." leo tinkered with his sphere, tapping and nudging one of the jewels on its surface. aruna peered over his shoulder, watching it curiously. "by tomorrow morning, we'll reach the western coast of greece. then another hour inland, and bang- house of hades! i'ma get me a t-shirt!"

aruna cheered and piper grumbled. "yayyy."

she wasn't anxious to plunge into darkness again. she still had nightmares about rome. in the blade of katoptris, she'd seen images similar to what hazel and leo described in their dreams- a pale sorceress in a gold dress, a giant wrapped in shadows, marching down a long corridor lined with torches. as he passed each one, the flames died. she saw a huge cavern filled with monsters- earthborn, cyclopes, and stranger things- surrounding her and her friends. she saw a pair of legs trapped under a pillar, black stone filled with skulls keeping someone pinned.

every time she saw those images, a voice in her head kept repeating one line over and over.

"guys." she said softly. "i've been thinking about the prophecy of the eight."

it took a lot to get leo's attention away from his work, but that did the trick. aruna perked up too, and both turned their heads to look at piper, with aruna's resting on leo's shoulder.

"what about it?" leo asked. "like... good stuff?"

"name one good thing a prophecy has ever given us." aruna deadpanned.

piper readjusted her cornucopia shoulder strap. sometimes, the horn of plenty seemed so light she forgot about it. other times, it felt like an anvil, like the river god achelous was sending out bad thoughts, trying to punish her for taking his horn.

"in katoptris," she started. "i keep seeing the giant clytius- the guy who's wrapped in shadows. i know his weakness is fire, but in my visions, he snuffs out flames wherever he goes. any kind of light just get sucked into his cloud of darkness."

"sounds like nico." leo commented. "you think they're related?"

jason scowled. "hey man, cut nico some slack. so, piper, what about this giant? what are you thinking?"

aruna, leo, and piper all shared quizzical looks, like: since when does jason defend nico di angelo? piper decided not to comment.

"i keep thinking about fire." piper said. "how we expect leo to beat this giant because he's..."

"hot?" leo suggested with a grin.

"let's go with flammable."

leo turned to aruna. "mi amor here thinks i'm pretty hot!"

"hot in the ways of a lava rather than sexiness. it looks kinda cool from far away but it's not very good at all when it's close." aruna corrected.

"that's not what you said when we-"

"don't." piper cut off. "anyway, that line from the prophecy bothers me: to storm or fire the world must fall."

"yeah, we know all about it." leo promised. "you're gonna say i'm fire. and jason here is storm."

piper nodded reluctantly. she knew that none of them liked talking about this, but they all must have felt like it was the truth.

before piper even said anymore words, she watched as it all clicked in for aruna- everything. she watched as aruna's breathing changed significantly, her eyes turning sad and dark. piper stared at her, knowing she wouldn't bring up the full portion of it.

the ship pitched to starboard. jason grabbed the icy railing, and aruna let leo stumble around. he glared at her, and she flipped him off in response.

"so," jason frowned. "you're worried one of us will endanger the quest, maybe accidentally destroy the world?"

aruna stared at jason like she was shocked he was this stupid.

"no." piper corrected. "i think we've been reading that line the wrong way. the world... the earth. in greek, the word for that would be..."

she hesitated, not wanting to say the name out loud, even at sea.

"gaea." jason's eyes gleamed with sudden interest. "you mean, to storm or fire gaea must fall?"

"oh..." leo grinned even wider, but aruna looked like she was going to vomit. "you know, i like your version a lot better. 'cause if gaea falls to me, mr. fire, that is absolutely copacetic."

aruna pulled away, shocked. "holy shit, i think that's the biggest word i've ever heard you use."

"supercallifragilistic-"

"or to me." jason cut off. "storm." jason kissed piper, and out of the corner of her eye, she watched leo and aruna pretend to make out as a joke, which was ironic now that everyone knew they were together (they had known for a while, really). "piper, that's brilliant! if you're right, this is great news. we just have to figure out which of us destroys gaea."

"jason..." piper felt like crying. "there's more."

she watched aruna shift again.

she unsheathed katoptris and set it on the console. immediately, the blade flickered, but it showed a completely new image this time- a raging inferno, and falling debris all over the place. everyone stared at the image, not knowing what to say at the sight of a massive pillar tumbling down.

"it's storm or fire." she said. "and... and remember... aruna's prophecy?"

leo looked soured all of a sudden as he turned to aruna, but her eyes were set on her feet.

"promise of peace, or evening embers." jason murmured as he stared at the fire. "to storm or fire the world must fall."

aruna gulped. "i don't like all these mentions of fire."

"i'm worried about leo and his fight with clytius." piper said. "that line in the prophecy makes it sound like only one of you can succeed. and if the storm or fire part is connected with the third line, and with aruna's line evening embers..."

"to storm or fire the world must fall." aruna recited. "a choice made; promise of peace, or evening embers."

she shook slightly as she recited the last line.

"flame of the moon to ocean's depth."

the boys didn't need it mansplained to understand. leo continued to stare at aruna, his hands shaking softly as aruna chewed her lip and looked down. leo turned back to the dagger, staring at the image of the flaming stones.

"okay... so i don't like your idea as much as i thought. you think one of us defeats gaea, and the other one dies? or-or aruna dies? or someone dies while defeating gaea-"

"guys." jason said. "we'll drive ourselves crazy overthinking it. you know how prophecies are. heroes always get in trouble trying to thwart them."

"yeah." leo muttered as he shuffled closer to aruna. "we'd hate to get in trouble. we've got it so good right now."

"you know what i mean." jason said. "the ocean's depth part might not even be connected to the storm or fire part. percy is a son of poseidon. and he can raise hurricanes."

"and i could always set coach hedge on fire." leo volunteered. "then he can be fire."

the thought of a blazing satyr screaming, "die, scumbag!" as he attacked gaea was almost enough to make piper laugh- almost.

"i hope i'm wrong." piper said cautiously. "but the whole quest started with us finding hera and waking that giant kind porphyrion. i have a feeling the war will end with us too. for better or worse."

"hey." jason smiled, glinting in the darkness of the storm. "personally, i like us."

"agreed!" leo grinned as he threw an arm around aruna's shoulder. she smiled softly, as leo planted a loud, annoying kiss on her cheek. "us is my favorite people!"

piper managed a smile. she really did love them. she wished she could use her charmspeak on the fates, describe a happy ending, and force them to make it come true.

unfortunately, it was hard to imagine a happy ending with all the dark thoughts in her head. she worried that the giant clytius had been put in their path to eliminate leo as a threat. if so, that meant gaea would also try to eliminate jason. without storm or fire, their quest couldn't succeed.

then, she got to thinking about what the moon might represent in the prophecy. she knew it was aruna. that much was obvious, even without the rest. but flame of the moon... it made piper shiver. lovers had often been described as the flame of the other's heart for centuries now, but it felt like this connotation meant leo specifically. he was not only aruna's boyfriend, but his element was fire.

and he overlapped once more with evening embers.

and this wintry weather bothered her too... she felt certain is was not being caused by the scepter of diocletian. the cold wind, the mix of ice and rain that seemed actively hostile, and somehow familiar.

that smell in the air. the thick smell of...

piper should've understood what was happening earlier, but she grew up in southern california with no major changes of season. she hadn't grown up with that smell... the smell of impending snow.

"something's here." aruna suddenly said. "it's- it's so angry-"

it clicked in an instant. aruna spawned her swords, marching to the edge of the ship. every muscle in piper's body tensed as she looked at loe.

"leo, sound the alarm."

she hadn't realized she was charmspeaking, but leo immediately dropped his screwdriver and punched the alarm button. he frowned when nothing happened.

"um, it's disconnected." he remembered. "festus is shut down. gimme a minute to get the system back online."

"we don't have a minute!" aruna suddenly shouted as she cut a stray snowball in half.

"fires!" piper howled. "we need vials of greek fire! jason, call the winds. warm, southernly winds!"

"wait, what?" jason stared at her in confusion. "piper what's wrong?!"

"it's her!" piper snatched up her dagger. "she's back!"

"come fight me like a real woman!" aruna howled into the winds.

the boat suddenly listed to port. the temperature dropped so fast, the sails crackled with ice. the bronze shields along the rails popped like over pressurized soda cans. a stray gust of icy wind made aruna yelp, and drop both swords.

jason drew his sword, but it was too late. a wave of ice particles swept over him, coating him like a glazed donut and freezing him in place. under a layer of ice, his eyes were wide with amazement.

"leo!" piper screamed as aruna started running for the boy in question. "flames, now!"

leo's right hand blazed, but the wind swirled around him and doused the fire. leo clutched his archimedes sphere as a funnel cloud of sleet lifted him off his feet.

"leo!" aruna screamed. she shot her hand into the funnel cloud, and grabbed leo by his forearm.

"hey!" he yelled into the air. "let me go!"

piper tried to run, but she froze at the sound of a cruel voice in the air.

"oh, yes, leo valdez. i will let you go permanently."

leo started to shoot skyward, hanging upside down, only tethered by aruna's superhuman grip. she and leo screamed as she slid to the edge of the railing, hooking one of her arms under it. even with her gravitational abilities, the winds were pulling violently. piper could see blood forming all over aruna's hand, blood from tiny scratches from ice.

"KHIONE!" aruna screamed. "YOU SOUR BITCH!"

leo clutched aruna's wrist. "a-aru! just- just let go! i'll be okay!"

aruna stared at him. piper looked around for khione, but she could only see aruna and leo. aruna froze, and turned to leo.

piper watched leo's face contort with horror. "NO, NO! I MEANT-"

"let go?" aruna shrugged. "okie-dokie!"

as soon as her hand lifted from the rail, they shot into the clouds with a deafening scream.

~•♡•~

we're at the part everyone in my comments has been talking about ehehehhehe